


The fight goes on

by lucylooksintoawardrobe



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Comfort, It Gets Better folks, M/M, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22700416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucylooksintoawardrobe/pseuds/lucylooksintoawardrobe
Summary: Hugh tries to comfort his partner after a disappointing result.
Relationships: Hugh Culber/Paul Stamets
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	The fight goes on

**Author's Note:**

> I was depressed and angry about the state of the world the other day and then Paul and Hugh showed up to make me feel better. This is the result. 
> 
> Many thanks to @DanceWithMeForScience for beta reading

Hugh had been expecting his partner to be angry about the outcome of the vote when he arrived back to their quarters that evening. Over the years, he’d come to understand that there were times Paul really needed someone to vent his frustrations to, and since Hugh knew that it wasn’t directed at him, and generally found Paul’s righteous anger to be something of a turn on, he was usually happy to be an outlet. Sometimes it was complaints about his lab assistants, occasionally it was the ‘stupid Starfleet regulations impeding his work’, and quite often, like tonight, it was politics. But no matter the subject, Hugh was always happy to listen patiently while Paul burnt himself out ranting about whatever was bothering him.

But when Hugh stepped through the doors of their quarters that evening, instead of being greeted by one of Paul’s angry tirades, there was only an oppressive silence. Surprised, Hugh looked further into the room, finding his partner sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling. His expression was strangely blank, but upon closer inspection Hugh recognised despair in his eyes. Hugh immediately went into alert mode. 

“Paul?” he said tentatively, approaching the bed as he did so, “are you alright?”

Paul looked over to him, still with the same miserable expression. “Not really,” he said after a moment.

Hugh sat down at the foot of the bed. “I heard about the outcome of the vote,” he said gently.

Paul sighed and stared back up at the ceiling. “Yeah.”

Hugh hesitated. “I’m sorry Paul. I know how hard you worked to oppose the lifting of the dilithium regulations.”

Silence. 

“I know how discouraging this must feel.”

More silence.

“But you mustn’t lose hope, Paul,” Hugh said, slightly desperate now. “You mustn't lose hope.”

Paul lay still for a few seconds more, still staring at the ceiling. Then finally, he spoke. 

“Hugh… it feels like we lost _everything_. I just can’t understand how this could happen. I mean the science is _crystal clear_ about the dangers of mining dilithium on planets with fragile ecosystems. Those regulations are _essential_ to ensure we can protect _hundreds_ of planets and _millions_ of species and those goddamn _idiots_ in the Federation Congress…” (here comes the anger, thought Hugh) “… think they can just ignore the warnings of thousands of scientists. They can just bury their heads in the sand because the ‘level of risk is worth the outcome’. Well, that’s _bullshit._ I don’t care how valuable dilithium is. It’s nothing compared to what we risk losing by lifting those regulations. I just can’t understand-”

Paul’s voice broke off suddenly, and Hugh was startled to see that the corners of his eyes were glistening. He knew how important this was for Paul, of course. He’d been supporting his partner in his activism for several months, trying to prevent the lifting of the regulations. He’d been getting the latest updates on the vote on his PADD all day, and when the news came through this afternoon that the Federation Congress had voted by a narrow margin to lift the regulations, he’d been as angry and disappointed as anyone. But he hadn’t been prepared for Paul to take it this hard.

Paul slowly looked back towards Hugh. “I just can’t understand,” he said again. “I can’t understand how this could happen. I thought…” Paul frowned. “I thought we were better than this,” he said quietly.

Hugh met his gaze. “We?” he asked softly.

“You know. Humans. People. The Federation. I thought we were better than this. We’re _supposed_ to be better than this. We’re supposed to have learned this lesson already.”

Paul sat up suddenly and put his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. Hugh leaned over and rubbed his hand up Paul’s shoulder gently, trying to offer comfort. He waited patiently for Paul to continue. 

“It’s just… when we were younger… when we were kids, they told us that we had learned from the mistakes of the past. They told us that our ancestors had made stupid decisions for short term gain, and it brought the planet to the brink of environmental destruction. But then we _evolved_ , and we learned to do better, and we _know better_ now, we _are_ better now. Aren’t we?”

Paul looked up then, directly at Hugh, and Hugh saw that same despair in his partners eyes. “Or was it all a lie? Are we really no better now than we were 200 years ago? Our own Earth representative voted to lift the regulations, and if _any species_ should understand the dangers of that…” Paul’s voice began to shake. “Does this mean we’re doomed to just keep repeating the same mistakes over and over, and convincing ourselves every time that we’ve learned something when really, we haven’t learned a damn thing?”

Paul lapsed into silence after that, apparently unable to articulate any more. Hugh let the silence stretch out for a few moments, still rubbing Paul’s shoulder, carefully thinking over his next words.

“Paul,” he said finally, “This is disappointing, I won’t deny that. And you’re right, it does feel like we should be better than this. I know I’ve sometimes felt like we’re going backwards instead of forwards.” Hugh took a deep breath before continuing. “But you _have_ to know that these setbacks don’t invalidate the progress we’ve made. Humanity has come so far, Paul, farther than our ancestors ever dreamed of. We _are_ better now. We’re not perfect, and maybe we never will be. But I promise it wasn’t all a lie, Paul. Maybe some of it was, but not all of it.”

“How can you be so sure?” Paul said, his voice still shaking slightly.

Hugh brought his hand to the side of Paul’s face. “ _This,_ Paul,” he said, tenderly stroking his thumb down Paul’s cheek to make his point crystal clear. He was finally rewarded with a small smile on his partner’s face.

“The universe isn’t perfect,” Hugh said gently, “but I will not lose hope. Not while there are still people like you to fight for what’s right.”

Paul’s smile grew a little wider, and he met Hugh’s eyes again. “And people like you to put it back together, my dear doctor.”

Hugh rolled his eyes. “No matter how much things change, it seems that this will always be the fate of doctors; having to look after idiots like you.”

“Then may the idiots of this world never lose their doctors,” said Paul, with mock solemnity.

“I’ll drink to that,” said Hugh grinning. After squeezing Paul’s hand briefly, he stood up and walked over to the cabinet. “Come on, let’s break out the Saurian brandy. Tonight, we drown our sorrows, but tomorrow,” he turned around with a bottle in his hands, “tomorrow we start the fight again.”

Paul answered with a weary sigh. “You and me together, dear doctor. They won’t know what hit them.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank God for Star Trek, honestly. 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed this! Please leave kudos/comments and let me know what you think :) 
> 
> You can find me on twitter/tumblr @lucyisalive


End file.
